Nut Consumption Tied With Lower Heart Disease Risk

(HealthDay News) — Nut consumption is tied to a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease (CHD), according to a study published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Marta Guasch-Ferré, PhD, from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues assessed associations between the intake of total and specific types of nuts and cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke risk among 76,364 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980 to 2012), 92,946 women from the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991 to 2013), and 41,526 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (1986 to 2012), all of whom were free of cancer, stroke, and cardiovascular disease at baseline.

The researchers found that after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, total nut consumption was inversely associated with total cardiovascular disease and CHD. Among participants who consumed one serving of nuts (28 g) at least 5 times per week, the pooled multivariable hazard ratios for cardiovascular disease and CHD were 0.86 and 0.8, respectively, compared with those who never or almost never consumed nuts. Consumption of peanuts and tree nuts at least twice per week and walnuts at least once per week was associated with a 13 to 19% lower risk of total cardiovascular disease and 15% to 23% lower risk of CHD.

“In three large prospective cohort studies, higher consumption of total and specific types of nuts was inversely associated with total cardiovascular disease and CHD,” conclude the authors.